apartheid

the former political system in South Africa in which only white people had full political rights and other people, especially black people, were forced to live away from white people, go to separate schools, etc.the pressures of life under apartheidSee related entries:RaceWord Origin1940s: from Afrikaans, literally

‘separateness’

, from Dutchapart

‘separate’

+ -heid (equivalent of -hood).Extra examplesNelson Mandela spent many years fighting against apartheid.Under apartheid the black population did not have the right to vote.the struggle against apartheidHe was jailed for advocating the violent overthrow of the apartheid system.It was a system of educational apartheid in which children were divided, at the age of eleven, into ‘achievers’ and ‘non-achievers’.Many countries boycotted South Africa in a bid to end apartheid.Under apartheid, white people were not allowed to marry non-white people.